Wood-polishing machine.



W. J. SUMNER.

WOOD POLISHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 11, 1914.

Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

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WOOD POLISHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. I7. 1914- Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

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W. J. SUMNER.

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WALTER J. SUMNER, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

WOOD-POLISHING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

Application filed November 17, 1914. Serial No. 872,631.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WALTER J. SUMNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented new and useful Improvements in Wood-Polishing Machines, of which the following is a specification. v

This invention relates to wood polishing machines, the object in view being to produce a simple, practical and automatic machine whereby wood work placed upon and supported by a table may be polished by a polishing element movable back and forth by means of a carriage which is reciprocated automatically in a rectilinear path, the polishing element being carried by an ad ustable section of the carriage so that it may be raised and lowered to occupy the proper relation to the work and also manually depressed and elevated from time to time.

A further object of the invention 1s to provide simple and reliable means for throwing the polishing mechanism into and out of operation,

A further object of the inventlon Is to provide means for supporting and holding the work in proper position to be operated upon by the olishing mechanism.

With the a ove and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings :F igure 1 is a front elevation of a wood polishing machine embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same. Fig.

3 is also an end elevation taken opposite Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the machine. Fig. 5 is aplan view of the machine. Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical cross section on the line 66 of Fig. 5 through the machine showing the polishing belt guiding and driving means and the means for raising and lowering the vertlcally movable sec-.

tion of the carriage. Fig. 7 is a plan view of one form of table showing the work clamping means. Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 9 is a plan view of Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a detail horizontal sect1on on the line 1212 of Fig. 6. Fig. 13 1s a detail horizontal section on the line 1 313 of Fig. 4. Fig. 14 is a fragmentary side elevation showing an interchangeable polishing head and modified driving means for the polishing element. Fig. 15 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 16 is a bottom plan view thereof. Fig. 17 is a plan view of a table embodying multiple clamps and operating means therefor. Fig. 18 is a fragmentary section of the same on an enlarged scale illustrating one of the clamps and a portion of the operating device and showing also a part of one of the clamp rails.

The machine frame, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, comprises the two side frames 1 and 2 which are spaced apart as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, said side frames being connected by suitable cross bars, two of said cross bars being shown at 3 and 4 constituting upper and lower guides for the reciprocatory carriage hereinafter referred to, there being two lower cross bars 4 as shown in Fig. 5, the same constituting track rails for rollers 5 on the carriage which is shown designated generally at A. The carriage which is movable in a horizontal plane comprises a vertically adjustable section designated generally at B, the main section A being immovable in avertical direction but, as previously indicated, being adapted to be reciprocated in a horizontal plane. The mainbody of the carriage comprises the side plates 6 arranged in spaced relation to each other and having extending therethrough a polishing belt driving shaft 7 on which is keyed a belt driving pulley 8, said pulley being, however, sufliciently loose on the shaft 7 to slide longitudinally thereof in the back and forth reciprocatory movements of the carriage. The pulley 8 imparts motion to an endless polishing belt 9 which passes around guide pulleys 10, 11, 12 and 13 on the main section A of the carriage and also around an upper set of guide pulleys 14 and 15 and a lower set of guide pulleys 16 and 17 mounted respectively on the top and bottom of the vertically adjustable section B of the carriage, said portion another form of table for clamping edge-iii, of the carriage being provided with an upwork at right angles to the position to whichi t v the table in Fig. 7 is adapted. Fig. 10 is a detail elevation showing the manner of mounting the polishing pad. Fig. 11 is a detail cross section on the line l111 9,

per pulley bearer 18 for the pulleys 14 and 5 and a lower pulley bearer 19 for the puleys 16 and 17. Between the pulley 12 and the pulley 14 the belt is given a quarter f wist as indicatefilnt .20 and a like quarter twist 21 is given to said belt between the pulley 13 and the pulley 16. Therefore the front run of the belt is disposed at right angles to the remaining portion which passes around the guide pulleys and driving pulley interposed between the side frame plates 6 of the main section A of the carriage.

The mechanism for raising and lowering the polishing belt 9 comprises a horizontal cross bar 22 which is movable up and down and which passes through openings 23 in the opposite side plates 23 of the vertically adjustable section B of the carriage (see Fig.

6). This cross bar 22 has extending up-' wardly from the opposite extremities there of rack bars 24 which are engaged and actuated by pinions 25 fast on a shaft 26 journaled in the upper part of the frame, one of said pinions 25 being actuated by an operating rack bar 27 which is slidable vertically through guides 28 on the frame and connected by means of a rod 29 to a manually operated lever 30 fulcrumed at 31 on the machine frame, the lever 30 being used for elevating and depressing the section B of the carriage and correspondingly raising and lowering the polishing belt and said lever being also used for pressing the polishing belt with the desired force against the work.

It will be observed that the lever 30 is mounted in a fixed position on the main frame of the machine and therefore does not travel with the carriage so that it may be operated with certainty and exactness at any time without interfering with the back and forth movements of the carriage.

32 designates a counterbalancing lever fulcrumed at 33 on the main section A of the carriage as best illustrated in Fig. 6, said lever comprising an adjustable weight 34 on one arm and a fork 35 at the extremity of the other arm which engages a pin 36 on the section B of the carriage. The weight 34 may be adjusted by means of a set screw 37 longitudinally of the lever 32 so that the section B may be either exactly balanced or overbalanced so as to obtain a certain de sion 41 having a vertical dove-tail groove 42v formed therein to engage and slide verti cally on a guide rib 43 also of dove-tail shape in cross section'and formed on the inner face of the adjacent side frame of the machine. Two of such guides are provided in connection with each table support 38 and between with corresponding miter gears 48 on a common shaft 49 provided at one end with an operating crank 50. By turning this crank, both screws 45 are simultaneously revolved and caused to feed the table supports 38 upwardly or downwardly. The construction of the table is illustrated in Figs. 7 to 9 inclusive. The table illustrated in Fig. 7 comprises the parallel frame bars 51 connected intermediate their ends by a cross bar 52 forming a stationary work clamp, the bar 52 being braced relatively to the frame bars 51 by corner diagonal braces 53. lVorking in opposition to the stationary clamp 52 is a movable clamp 54 parallel to the clamp 52 and connected therewith by clamping screws 55 arranged adjacent to the opposite ends of the clamps and simultaneously turned by means of a chain 56 passing around sprocket wheels 57 on said screws 55 as clearly illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. One of the screws 55 is provided with an operating crank handle 58 by turning which, the movable clamp 54 may be adjusted to clamp the work in a vertical edgewise position so that the edge of the work may be operated upon by the polishing element above described. In lieu of extending the clamps 52 and 54 longitudinally of the frame as shown in Fig. 7, they may extend transversely of the frame of the table as indicated at 52 and 54 in Fig. 9, the clamping means being otherwise identical with that described in connection with that of Fig. 7. The table illustrated in Fig. 9 comprises in addition to the parallel bars 51, other bars 59 which connect the ends of the bars 51 thereby forming a rectangular frame, the bars 59 serving to support the stationary clamp 52.

In connection with either of the tables shown in Figs. 7 and 9, I employ down wardly extending work supports 60 provided with vertical series of holes 61 to receive pins 62 to support the bottom edge of the work.

In lieu of the means illustrated in Figs. 7 to 9 inclusive for holding the work edgewise vertically, an ordinary table for holding the work in a horizontal or flat position may be employed as illustrated in the remaining 11' gures, 63 designating such a table and the same being provided with work holding clamps 64 adjustable lengthwise thereof and adapted to be held by set screws 65.

The mechanism for imparting back and forth movements to the carriage comprises an endless carriage actuating flexible cable 66 which winds around a cable actuating drum 67 and passes from thence around guide pulleys 68, 69 and 70 so arranged that the endless cable comprises two runs extending in planes parallel to the plane of movement of the table, one of said runs being connected at 71 to the main section A of the table, passing through the side plates 6 thereof as indicated in Fig. 6. The cable actuating drum 67 is mounted fast on a drum shaft 72 having thereon a pinion 73 which is actuated by an oscillatory sector 74 meshing with said pinion as shown in Fig. 2. The sector 74 is oscillated by means of a connecting rod 7 5 extending to a wrist pin 76 on a crank wheel 77 provided with spur teeth which mesh with a pinion 78 bearing a fixed relation to a spur gear wheel 79 meshing with a pinion 80 on a shaft 81 driven by a belt 82 from a pulley 83 on the belt driving shaft 7 hereinabove referred to. The belt 82 is normally loose so that it may freely slip around the pulley 83 but is thrown into operation by means of a belt tightener pulley 84 mounted on a manually operated lever 85 fulcrumed on the machine frame as indicated in Fig. 2. In order to vary the throw of the carriage, the throw of the toothed sector 74 may be regulated by adjusting the position of the wrist or crank pin 76 which is accomplished as illustrated in Fig. 2 by means of a wrist pin carrier 86 slidable on the hub 87 of the wheel 77, the carrier 86 being adjustable by means of a screw 88.

Motion is primarily imparted to the machine by means of a driving belt 89 passing around a driving pulley 90 on the belt driving shaft 7 hereinabove referred to. In lieu of the endless polishing belt 9 hereinabove described, a polishing head 91 may be substituted therefor, the same being illustrated in the detail views, Figs. 10 and 11. The head 91 may be of any suitable material for abrading, polishing or finishing work and embod ies an attaching shank 92 which is received in a holder or chuck 93 adjustable in a guide 94 which is supported in an upward direction by means of an abutment plate 95 secured to the carriage section B as shown in Fig. 10 and braced by the member 96. Cushioning springs 97 and 98 are interposed between the plate 95, one or more plates 99 and a head plate 100 on the guide 94, said springs encircling bolts 101 and 102 connecting said plates. Rollers 103 and 104 are interposed between the plates as shown in Fig. 10 to provide for an easy rocking and cushioning movement of the guide which carries the adjustable chuck or holder 93 for the polishing pad 91.

Fig. 12 illustrates the form and arrangement of the shoes 105 which connect the sections A and B of the carriage, each of saidshoes being fastened to one of said sections by means of a screw 106 or its equivalent and being provided with a rib or tongue 107 Which works up and down in a groove 108 in the other section. This holds the two sec tions A and 13 together while permitting the vertical adjustment of the section B of the carriage.

In the operation of the machine, the work is supported upon the underlying table and the latter is adjusted to bring the work into the desired relation to the polishing element. The work may be either placed horizontally 0n the table or clamped in a vertical edgewise position according as to Whether the flat surface of the work has to be treated or the edge thereof. By means of the lever 30, the vertically movable section of the carriage may then be adjusted to bring the polishing element into the proper relation to the work and may be held against the work with any desired pressure by means of the same lever. By means of the belt tightener lever 85, the endless carriage actuating cable is then thrown into operation and thereafter operates to shift the carriage back and forth over the surface of the work, the endless pol ishing belt being constantly driven by the mechanism hereinabove described. The operation of the carriage may be terminated instantly by throwing off the belt tightener pulley 84 and the polishing element, whether it be the endless belt or the pad, may be instantly thrown out of working position by means of the lever 30.

Another arrangement of polishing head is illustrated in Figs. 14 to 16, inclusive, in which A designates the main section of the carriage and B the adjustable or vertically movable section of the carriage, the latter being balanced by the counterbalancing 1ever 32 corresponding with the lever 82 hereinabove referred to. Instead of the endless polishing belt 9 above described I employ a reciprocatory polisher shown as consisting of a runner 109 movable along a guide 110 fastened at 111 to the adjustable section B- of the carriage, the runner 109 being provided with one or more raised polishing pads 112. The runner 109 embodies an arm 113 to which is pivotally connected a pitman or connecting rod 114 the other end of which is connected to a crank disk 115 on a shaft 116 extending at right angles to the driving shaft 7 corresponding with the shaft 7hereinabove referred to. The shaft 116 is driven by means of a bevel gear wheel 117 keyed thereon and meshing with and driven by another bevel gear wheel 118 on a shaft 119 which is provided with a bevel gear wheel 120 meshing with and driven by a bevel gear wheel 121 on the shaft 7. In order to admit of the up and down movement of the member B of the carriage, the shaft 116 is provided with a key way 122 to receive a key in the bore of the gear wheel 117, the last named gear being sup ported by a bearing 123 on the main section A of the carriage. Therefore the section B may be raised and lowered without interfering with the driving connections between the shaft 7 and the runner 109 of the polishing head.

The device just described is particularly useful in certain classes of work such as finishing varnished surfaces and bringing the same to a high polish.

For clamping extra large work on the table, I employ the construction illustrated in Figs. 17 and 18 wherein 40 designates the table corresponding with the table 40 previously described. This table 40 is provided along the front and rear edges there of with guide rails 124 which are parallel to each other and fixedly secured to the table. Slidably mounted on the guide rails 124 are parallel clamp rails 125 the same being perpendicular or at right angles to the guide rails 124; along which they are slidable, said clamp rails 125 being provided with holes through which the guide rails 124: pass. Each of the guide rails 125 is provided with a longitudinal series of openings 126 through which are inserted the stems 127 of a series of clamps 128 shown as provided with serrated working faces 129. The stem 127 of each clamp is enlarged as shown at 130 and slotted at 131 to receive a clamp operating rod 132, said rod being provided with a plurality of projections having wedging faces 133 which cooperate with oblique or wedging faces 134 in which the slots 131 terminate at their inner ends. The clamps 128 are normally pressed outwardly or away from the wor by means of coiled expansion springs 134 interposed between the adjacent guide rail 125 and the shoulder formed by the'enlarged end portion 130 of each stem 127 as clearly shown in Fig. 18. Each of the rods 132 is provided at its forward end with a suitable knob or handle 135 and each of the guide rails 125 is provided at its forward extremity with a binding screw 136 to enable the same to be fastened in fixed relation to the table when properly adjusted. 137 designates a hand rail extending along the front edge of the table and secured rigidly thereto, said hand rail 137 being adapted to be grasped by the operator for the purpose of shifting the table 40 back and forth. It will be understood that the clamp rails 125 may be adjusted independently of each other along the guide rails 124 so as to accommodate the Work between them. The operating rods 132 are then moved endwise causing the wedging faces 133 and 1341 to cooperate and resulting in all of the clamps 128 being thrust into firm holding engagement with the work which is thus held securely clamped in relation to the table. By moving the rods 132 in the opposite direction the work may be instantly released and removed from the table.

lVhat I claim is 1. In a wood polishing machine, a machine frame, a work supporting table, a carriage movable in a plane parallel to said table, a polishing element mounted on said carriage, means for feeding said carriage back and forth comprising a flexible cable, and cable driving means.

2. In a wood polishing machine, a machine frame, a work supporting table, a carriage movable in a plane parallel to said table, a polishing element mounted on said carriage, means for feeding said carriage back and forth, a manually operable lever fulcrumed on the machine, and connections between said lever and the polishing element for elevating and depressing the latter.

3. In a wood polishing machine, a machine frame, a work supporting table, a carriage movable in a plane parallel. to said table, a polishing element mounted on said carriage, means for feeding said carriage back and forth, a manually operable lever fulcrumed on the machine, and connections including rack and pinion mechanism between said lever and the polishing element for elevating and depressing the latter.

+1. In a wood polishing machine, a machine frame, a work supporting table, a carriage movable in a plane parallel to said table, a polishing element mounted on said carriage, means for feeding said carriage back and forth comprising an endless cable attached to the carriage, a cable actuating drum, and means for automatically revolving said drum alternately in opposite direc tions.

5.-In a wood polishing machine, a machine frame, a work supporting table, a carriage movable in a plane parallel to said table, a. polishing element mounted on said carriage, means for feeding said carriage back and forth comprising an endless cable attached to the carriage, a cable actuating drum, means for automatically revolving said drum alternately in opposite directions including a rotary shaft, an oscillatory sector geared to the cable drum, and a con necting rod between said sector and a crank wheel on said rotary shaft.

6. In a wood polishing machine, a machine frame, a work supporting table, a can riage movable in a plane parallel to said table, a polishing element mounted on said carriage, means for feeding said carriage back and forth comprising an endless cable attached to the carriage, a cable actuating drum, means for automatically revolving said drum alternately in opposite directions. and means for throwing said cable-actuat ing drum into and out of operation.

7. In a wood polishing machine, a machine frame, a work supporting table, a carriage movable in a plane parallel to said table, a polishing element mounted on'said carriage, means for feeding said carriage back and forth comprising an endless cable attached to the carriage, a cable actuating drum, means for automatically revolving said drum alternately in opposite directions, and means for Varying the extent of throw of said cable and carriage.

8. In a wood polishing machine, a machine frame, a work supporting table, table raising and lowering means, a carriage movable in a plane parallel to said table, a polishing element mounted on said carriage, and means for feeding said carriage back and forth.

9. In a wood polishing machine, a machine frame, a work supporting table, rollers under said table, supports on which said rollers run, raising and lowering means for said supports, a carriage movable in a plane parallel to said table, a polishing element mounted on said carriage, and means for feeding said carriage back and forth.

10. In a wood polishing machine, a machine frame, a work supporting table, rollers under said table, supports on which said rollers run, raising and lowering means for said supports, a carriage movable in a plane parallel to said table, a polishing element mounted on said carriage, means for feeding said carriage back and forth, and work holding clamps on said table.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WALTER J. SUMNER.

Witnesses:

FRED E. BARNEY, G. E. LANDEEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

